


Domino

by dodoSerebro (DodoSerebro)



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Gen, Graphic Description, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-15
Updated: 2014-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-26 15:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/967817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DodoSerebro/pseuds/dodoSerebro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>War Erupts when the Russian President is killed. Team Delta are running against time to find the killer and bring him to justice. Previous attempts were made but all were futile. Will the squad members manage to deal with their past demons and bring him to justice, stepping closer to end the war?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> heya, this is my first fanfic, never written anything in my life. This was mostly written by me and PAX (not the Pax found here) helped me proofread it and also did some editing (thanks man!) 
> 
> It has a rather slow start, yes I know, but I promise it gets better chapter by chapter. Tags might change in the future :)  
> A lot of military abbreviations and referencing is made. Enjoy

**13th April 2015**  
  
A sunny cloudless day dawned upon Washington. The parade was in full swing with people cheering at the black car glistering in the sun containing the two important figures which have been the centre of attention for the past weeks. The colourful surroundings portrayed the false calamity that the people have been clinging on these last weeks.  
  
The possibility for war has been rising and falling for years but has intensified in the last few months, after the Russians built a new type of nuclear warheads, but a faint light is finally shining upon the horizon for these people and they are clinging onto it with their dear lives. The two figures were waving at the people, false smiles plastered upon their faces trying to portray the image that everything now is now settled and that peace will and security will soon follow, but all knew it was far more complex than just a smile and a wave.  
  
The car pulled up at the White House, ready to house the most followed entities at the moment. A heavily armoured security guard walked slowly towards the left door of the car, where the President of the United States Jerry Lockhart was sitting, showing the reality of the danger that that action conveyed, whilst another armoured guard moved towards the right door near the Russian President Dmitry Voronchev with the same caution.  
The Leaders climbed up the stairs and moved towards the platforms to start their speeches leading to the signing of the decree. The US president went up the few steps leading to the platform and started his speech, hoping that nothing goes wrong as he knows that if a slight mishap happens, this would turn into the most gruesome war.  
  
***  
  
On a high building, 2 kilometres away from the signing parade, a man opened a briefcase and began assembling the several parts of the M107 LRSR .50Cal sniper rifle. After assembling the rifle, he stood prone behind it at the edge of the building letting its stock rest comfortably on his shoulder, gently brushing the cheek. Standing beside him, a small radio flickered as the US president’s speech could be heard amongst the applause of the present public as he stepped down to make space for the Russian President. He looked through the scope, and aimed lower at the president, waiting…  
As the Russian president concluded his speech, the sniper finally taking a deep breath, aimed, held his shoulder steady to the stock and pulled the trigger, not missing his prey, a deadly bullet puncturing his skull. As he stood there admiring his work for the seconds that followed, screams and orders could be heard from the radio and chaos could be seen through the scope of his rifle. Satisfied, he quietly rested down the weapon and pulled out a small walkie-talkie, finding the frequency he issued a small statement  
  
“Tsel’ Vypolnennaya [Target Executed]”  
  
“Horosho Jason, Vernut'sya k shtab-kvartire [Good Jason, go back to HQ]”  
Standing up he turned towards the roof door and walked slowly out, never glancing back, knowing deep within that this action will changed the world as we know it, driving the world into oblivion.

 ***

 **16 months Later**  
  
16 months from the fall of the Russian President, 16 months since his skull was punctured by a bullet, 16 months since the Russians vowed for revenge on the Americans, 16 months since the first missile was fired towards the US. After decades of fear, their nightmares started to take shape. A war, which is said to be more dangerous than what the Cold War was planned to be, was in full swing leaving destruction everywhere around the world. Several prominent countries ended up in ruins and more ended up in that state with each passing day.  
  
The only hope to end this war was to capture the man who started it all, but where to search for him? He was a ghost, unknown to all except maybe the ones he worked for. Whenever they manage to get any closer to him, he always manages to escape, leaving a bloodbath behind.  
  
In a gloomy corridor inside the DOD HQ, a Colonel was walking down the aisle, moving towards his office. From the other end, footsteps were echoing throughout, each thud closing in faster, but he still didn’t take any notice, until he heard a voice calling him.

  
“Colonel! Colonel Sermanni! Please wait! I have important intel for you. Colonel Wait Sir!” the voice of a young secretary could be heard from the other side of the corridor.

Tom, like all the other people in the corridor, reacted to the excited voice and turned towards her, seeing a small petite figure of a woman in her early 20s dressed in a navy blue suit and a mini-skirt, her chestnut hair bouncing with each step running towards him in those high heels, which he never understood the concept of, her chest held firm with all the clothes of the uniform, waving a file in his direction. Upon recognizing the young woman he smiled and waited for her to catch up.  
  
“Ahh Ms. Morgan, what’s so important to live up to your “Baby Horse” nickname, running down here?” Tom curiously asked  
  
A flushed faced Alex quietly handed him the file swiping sweat off her face before it smudges her perfect makeup. Tom’s curiosity was peaked when he read the red stamp CONFIDENTAL on the front. Wasting no more time, he opened the brown cover before halting in his tracks. A chill went down his spine and a cold blooded sweat ran down the side of his forehead. His face turned into a ghostly white ash. He felt light-headed, the gravity intensified by an uncountable measure pressuring his head. 

_Jason Moraz..._

Two words. A Name. The Reason for this War and all of the shattered lives left in its wake. Worldwide destruction.

“You bastard!” were the first thoughts that entered his mind.  
  
“Is everything ok Colonel?” Alex quietly asked seeing how his face expression changed in the process of seeing inside the file.  
  
“Ye…yes Morgan, go back to your station and forward me any new intel regarding this case. Treat it as highest Priority.” Tom dismissed her quietly.  
  
Turning to his secretary Tom walked to her and showed her the picture. Rachel Buehler’s eyes opened wide and her mouth was wide agape.  
  
“Is…Is that Moraz? They found him?! Where is he now!” Rachel sputtered  
  
“According to this intel he’s in Montenegro now, I think he found Latvia too cold for him” Tom punned a bit.  
  
“Bloody I’m sure you meant…” Rachel commented back ruefully.  
  
“Call in Team Delta, They’re the most prepared and adapting for this mission”  
  
Rachel looked at him in disbelief, and words of protest soon began falling out of her mouth.  
  
“You have to be joking, from all the Teams, THEM?”  
  
Tom stared at her blankly and began racking his brains. He knew what she meant. This was madness, but nothing could be done, they were on his trail and they had better move and act upon it before he escapes again. Looking back at Rachel he nodded and confirming his orders again he told her to phone them up.  
  
“Yes, Team Delta, in Boardroom 4 ASAP, less time wasted, more chance of catching him so call them up Buehler. I want them in my office in 1 hour”

  
Rachel just sighed, knowing how stubborn he was, she nodded in confirmation to his order and grabbed the phone, dialling an internal extension she waited for the other end to pick up while Tom proceeded to the designated boardroom.

“Lt. Col. Rampone” a weary voice rang out in the phone. “Need anything Buehler?”  
  
“Gather your Team, all, ASAP to Boardroom 4, you only have 1 hour chance to gather them all up. New Intel on Moraz…” Lowering her voice on the last sentence.  
  
Christie just froze, thinking she misheard she asked again about the intel, but it was no mistake, she heard it right the first time. Her everyday nightmare now turned into reality. She has to face him again, even worse, she has to lead _her_ new team against him. The word _new_ hurt a lot.  
  
“Lieutenant, you still here?” Rachel worriedly asked  
  
“Yea...yeah, I’m here...”  
  
“I’m sorry... I tried to protest, but Colonel is stubborn, and your team is really the most adaptive”  
  
“It’s ok Buehler, you don’t need to excuse yourself, that's why we're here...I’ll..I’ll get right to it. I’ll start calling them”  
  
“Lieutenant?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Please take care...”  
  
“I’ll try” Christie’s voice completely broke off at the last 3 words, croaking the words out.  
  
Christie sighed and put down the receiver. Leaning back on her chair she took a deep breath and tried to calm down her nerves which were taking over. Her mind raced back to that eventful mission re-living the nightmare wide awake now. She cleared her thoughts and lifted the receiver again, calling each and every troop in her squad instructing them to meet in the hallway leading to Boardroom 4. Leaving _her_ for last, she dreaded having to call _her_ for this particular mission, but orders are orders so she picked up the receiver  
  
“Lt. Wambach…”

 -----


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the mission gets closer by the second, the tension rises at a higher rate by the second. Abby still blames Christie for all that happened, but will they manage to put their differences aside?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my buddy Pax (not this pax on this forum) for the editing :)  
> Sorry for the delay, uni life isn't easy....
> 
> Warning: There are certain parts which hint slight torture (the Italics part) there is nothing graphic *YET* but I do not suggest you skip it, otherwise you'll be missing out the story

Chapter 2

 

“Lt. Wambach” called the voice from the other side.

Hearing her voice, Christie gasped, too loud for her own comfort, which made Abby look at her ID caller. The name that appeared on that little screen froze her completely. Although they were on the same squad, Christie was the least person she was expecting to call her and this caught her completely off guard.

“Wambach…” Christie tried to collect herself hoping her voice won’t break off, “we have a mission, we need to meet Colonel Sermanni in Boardroom 4 ASAP”

Abby bit her lip, her mind drifting back to 3 months ago, hoping that this mission won’t be the same one again. Attempts to block the scenario were futile and a petite figure of a woman haunted her thoughts. She immediately closed her eyes trying to block off her face.

“I understand Rampone, mind I ask what the mission is about.” Abby inquired hoping she wouldn’t hear that name.

Christie hung her head low. Her mind began wondering how to avoid the question gracefully. An eerie silence fell between them and Abby began to feel uncomfortable, her suspicions slowly being confirmed by the line’s silence. The nightmares that haunted her these last 3 months causing her nights of restless sleep and even insomnia were taking shape, ready to attack. Trying to muster her already failing courage, she took a deep breath ready to ask the million-dollar question.

“Is it Moraz?”

Christie felt her heart drop. The dread of having to call Abby intensified and all her courage to face her suddenly disappeared. Her follow-up excuse was not any better, and her statement caused Abby to react more than she wished for.

“Wait until briefing Abby” Christie whispered lowering her voice with each passing word.

Abby’s pent up rage was unleashed towards the wrong person. In her eyes, Christie was the villain who caused all this, even though she was just following orders. She couldn’t believe how Christie managed to stay this calm, not noticing that her fellow mate was in shock herself. The image of a young woman invaded her thoughts again and clouded her judgement. Christie has to pay for this.

“Bullshit Christie! Why don’t you fuckin’ tell me where he’s at huh? Or are you covering for him?”

“I don’t know Abby, I seriously do not know, I’ve just been informed myself just to get down to the meeting”

“Bullshit!, you’ve been covering since the last fuckin’ mission. You knew what we were getting into!, Are you a double like him? Is all this also a setup?!”

“Abby, why would you even think that? You think this is a game for me? That a player dies and another can join instead of him? Is that what you think? Grow the fuck up, you know I was just following orders”

The last sentence served as a catalyst for Abby’s ever fuelling anger. Her hand curled into a fist, cutting her blood flow to her own hands, whitening them in the process, her teeth were clenched and used every drop of willpower left in her to stop her from slamming the receiver and confront Christie face-to-face at that moment.

“JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS?” she screamed, “you fuckin’ led them into a death trap and you knew it, but didn’t do anything about it. It’s all your fuckin’ fault Sarah’s dead along with the others. There’s too much blood on your hands Christie”

The mention of Sarah’s name made Christie want to throw up. She still couldn’t get her out of her mind, her face writhing in pain in front of her and she stood there helpless seeing her getting tortured. She couldn’t answer Abby, the words left her completely. Deep down she wants to tell her “sorry” but she knows, just a “sorry” won’t fix things, won’t fix the damage done and certainly will not bring any persons back.

“We don’t know whether she’s dead Abby...” slowly Christie replied, it was the only thing that came into her mind... clinging on the hope like Abby that somewhere Sarah was still alive even though the possibility of it being true was remotely close to none.

“Christie, she’s dead, you...you killed her. It’s been three months since she has been MIA, what are the possibilities? In what scenario could she ever be still alive?” sobbed Abby, her composure leaving her.

“I’m sorry Abby…”Christie sighed, her chest suddenly feeling constricted and pressured. Tears welled up her eyes when she heard her squad member sobbing and was at a loss of words, the only thing she could do was feel ~~ing~~ Abby’s pain, knowing how close they were in becoming one, she could only mutter a small excuse but words won’t solve anything.

“… I’m sorry for not being able to protect her like I promised to” her voice quivered, “Please, get down to the meeting, we’ll talk after”

And without a warning she put down the handset before Abby could mutter another word. She couldn’t bare the guilt any longer, Abby’s words set heavy on her heart, “ _You killed her_ ” kept on lingering and echoing at the back of her mind. Her breathing got heavier by the second.

_Sarah…_

Her face started forming in her mind, that genuine smile that always plastered on her face save the last 2 days that she had seen her, hurt her… a lot. The thought that she might never see her again because of her actions made her sick ~~to~~ in the stomach and slowly moved to the trash bin, scared that her stomach might actually fail her and throw up before even arriving to the bathroom. The thoughts wouldn’t clear, even if she wanted to. The images of the young woman in the final moments that she saw her made her sick, and the trash bin was of use. Stumbling against the wall, she slid down slowly trying to catch her breath, even slower to compose herself. The pain in her side started throbbing and lightly lifted her shirt uncovering the scar which once was a gaping hole gashing out blood. Her mind replayed the scene… Sarah’s pained face, shouts and gunfire from outside, a gun trained at her, a bang and a black screen. The scene up to that point froze her and her thoughts stopped there. After a couple of long minutes, she regained some composition and slowly stood up heading for the metallic doorway. Her head rested against its frameworks, her cheek touching the cool metal, sending waves of much needed coolness throughout Christie’s body.     

This mission ~~,~~ was the sign of a new hopeful beginning, a hard earned beginning that although some might have to pay their price in blood, their blood would mean a step closer in finding Sarah, a step closer to end this war, a step closer to world-wide peace.

Determination filled her, and slow sure steps were made one after another to the hallway leading to Boardroom 4.

“ _We’ll catch him, and then we’ll come for you Sarah”_

**

Abby stood dumbfounded when the telephone line started beeping indicating that the call has ended, but she was too shocked and numb from Sarah’s memories to even bother to try again… she still was going to see Christie’s sorry face downstairs anyway. Instead she put her head between her hands and cried her heart out like a new-born baby. She was fed up with the façade of a tough strong woman, the type that has never given up on her fiancée, but the truth hurts and she knows like everybody else that Sarah was probably dead. Her hand reached out to the corner of the table to a small wooden frame, her finger grazing and stroking lovingly the thin glass separating the photograph and her fingers. She took the photo out of the frame, her fingers still lovingly stroking Sarah’s face, every contour of her jaws, lips and every facial detail that she knew and cherished so well, thinking how many times those fingers have stroked the real thing rather than a piece of paper sitting behind a thin slit of glass... and cried even more.

“Where are you Sarah?” her voice rang out in the quiet lonely room, echoing back the rhetorical question _,_ her eyes fixed on the face she never grew tired of looking at _“_ Please come back, I miss you, I need you”

The tears slid down her cheeks, dropping heavily on the photo. Seeing that, Abby gently shook the photo, and dried the tear droplets off with her shirt ever so delicately as if using too much force would actually hurt her loved one. Slowly putting the photo back ~~to~~ in its frame, she stroked the face for the last time, standing up while doing so. She took a deep breath, dried her eyes and checked her clothes not wanting to look a wreck in front of the others although she knows that most of the squad had seen through her “strong” façade.

Clearing her mind, she grabbed the jacket off the chair and headed downstairs, determined not to let anything or anyone stand in her way…… _especially_ not Christie

***

The shuffling of the squad like sandpaper grating against wood could be heard echoing throughout the hallway amplified by their grumbling. Christie’s heart dropped when she saw the many _new_ faces, either called up from different divisions, or have just joined the ranks. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for familiar faces. Her eyes fell on a duo, a genuine smile appearing on her face, both leaning against the wall bellowing with laughter. The communications manager could hardly keep upright with all the laughter, maybe a bit more than she should have, from a silly joke circulating around. Sgt Carli Lloyd supported herself on the other Sergeant, who was bent with laughter as much as her. Christie smiled when she saw them laughing hard, she knew every troop’s past in her squad and knew that Hope’s and Carli’s bond was special. Sgt Hope Solo, one of the most feared snipers among her ranks who always keeps to herself, sulking and ever attentive, absorbing her surroundings rarely looking at anybody let alone talk, was the complete opposite with Carli around. The two had known each other since way back, forging their strong bond on the Afghanistan front 7 years before, when Carli got captured. An IED separated her from the rest of the team and got surrounded. After 2 days under their torturous hands, the allies found her. She’ll never forget Hope storming in, clearing the room and swooping over her. She quickly untied her wrists and lifted her up over her shoulder, still dazed from the previous 2 days, and hurriedly evacuated the area to the pickup zone before enemy reinforcements arrived. Carli knows that she’s alive because of Hope and for that she stayed forever grateful.

Christie continued to chuckle when she heard a particular skirmish coming to light and another squad member being mentioned. She wasn’t there for that particular mission, it wasn’t _her_ team back then, but it was the most popular story amongst the army.

“Don’t you remember that skirmish we had back in Estonia, Carli?” chuckled Hope

“What happened then?” Corporal Ali Krieger asked curiously edging closer to the two of them. The gunner’s face of utter confusion caused the two women to laugh heartily, looking in the direction of a blonde, to which this story was attached to.

“Ashlyn never told you?” Carli snorted, trying to keep upright

“No…Ash?” Ali turned towards Ashlyn.

The Medical Officer Ashlyn Harris turned bright red and tried to avoid the conversation by moving away, but the others wanting to relive the joke, especially with the main actress being present, surrounded her and started cheering to share the story. Ashlyn knew escape was futile and she thought it would be easier to deal with it quickly and let it pass.

 

“In…In the middle of the night we got attacked, and we had to leave the camp to defend the base we were in, so we literally went out with what clothes we had on at that moment” Ashlyn quietly explained excluding certain particular details.

“What’s so wrong with that?” Ali still couldn’t understand what was so funny about being caught off guard in a middle of an enemy raid.

“Nothing was wrong apart from the fact that all Ashlyn was wearing was a sports bra and boxers shorts, and the best part, a patterned one and even worse…flowers” Hope screamed causing laughter to erupt from all of them.

“It’s not my fault there was a heat wave and an attack that night… and how the hell you remember what I wore? Did you take notice of my ass Hope Solo? I never thought you were into women… Jerramy is going to be displeased” Ash hit back

“Oh please, it would make him interested more Ash and I don’t think it was necessary to be gay to remember what you were wearing. Seriously… Fluorescent pink underwear with white flowers? Flowers are so not you Ash. The pink served as a target for your enemies” Hope lashed back

“Hah, and the Lieutenant got so mad, I swear he had smoke coming out of his ears. He was thinking that she was mocking our squad. I’m sure he was the only one who didn’t appreciate your ass and boxers Ash. I’m still surprised you’re still here,” Carli choking on her own laughter.

“Times are harsh it seems”

“It must have been quite a show then Ash” Ali grinned

Ash’s face looked ever so like that of a tomato and tried to move away, even refusing Ali’s hug sensing it was a snickering hug, but the latter was not having any of it and forced Ash into a bear hug, stroking her blonde/chestnut hair along the way. Ash gave in to the warmth, radiating out of the green\brown commando camouflaged jackets, returning the hug. What Ali did afterwards turned her face into a fire-truck red and new warmth engulfed her, her eyes wide open in a glassy stared, mouth agape,

“I’m pretty sure the others didn’t mind the show. I wouldn’t have, in fact it would be interesting to see you in that state again or maybe even barer” Ali whispered in her ear, sliding a finger down Ash’s spine dipping her finger under the pants’ waistband to the amusement of the others who started snickering, seeing what Ali did and guessing what she might have said.

Christie called them back from where she was standing scared that Tom or anyone else might walk on them.

“Krieger, Harris cut it out if you don’t want to end on the Russian Front. No intra-squad relationships remember. It would be a shame to lose our lamp now wouldn’t we” she winked at them, followed by a slap on Ali’s dipping hand from Hope causing her to yelp at the stinging contact.

“So Rampone was mad at you Ash for coming in your underwear when you were under attack?” Private Kelley O’Hara innocently asked only catching half the story, breaking the amusing scene.

The silence that followed was maddening, each could hear each other’s breath, the discomfort rising sky high. Everyone looked at Christie whose face turned into white ash. Kelley noticed the discomfort among all of the squad and cursed herself for asking, although she was curious to what had caused this sudden reaction from all.

Megan cleared her throat catching Kelley’s attention and quietly explained without revealing too much.

 “Christie is our new boss Kelley, but back then we had another one and he was replaced with Christie. Only a few of you are the new ones here, Christie is as well” Megan tried to wrangle it up without revealing Christie’s past.

Christie was relieved with Megan’s explanation and silently muttered “Thank you” without Kelley seeing her and received back a wink from Megan. Kelley contented herself with the answer but she knew that there was something more than that, something that they didn’t want to reveal to her just yet but she just let it be.

Capt. Shannon Boxx came in together with Pvt. Tobin Heath, shuffling towards them with the speed of a snail. The baggy eyes gave them away, tiredness had swept over them. Tobin yawned and stretched in front of them. Christie began to chuckle especially when she heard Kelley teasing the other young one.

“Dude, you look old, need some anti-aging cream or a bit of oil to ease those rusty joints?” Kelley snickered

“You would look old if somebody cut off your afternoon nap for a suicidal mission” commented back Tobin playfully glaring at her boss.

“Alex was right Tobs… you are getting old… afternoon naps are for grannies” joked Megan playfully touching Tobin’s back jumping back in surprise, “eeekkk a hump is growing! Ashlyn get her a cane, get her a cane!”

Leaving them joking, Shannon quietly went to her friend’s side. They had been long life buddies in the same team since they joined the army around 15 years ago. Moving to Christie’s side she put her hand reassuringly on her shoulder turning it into a hug.

“How’s your side partner? How does it feel to get back on the field after 3 months?” Shannon asked, snuggling more into the hug

“It’s not bad, this team seems like a good lot… though it’s hard to see all these new faces”

“Wait for a bit more, you’ll be wishing you were still in that warm comfy bed” smiled Boxxy, taking notice of Christie’s rigid stature, “You worried about Abby aren’t you?”

“How can I not, I can’t face Abby again, not after what happened Boxxy” Christie croaked, “She was so mad when I called her today, saying how could I be this calm and that I’m actually a double-agent covering for Jason”

“She’s still hurt, don’t mind much what she says.”

“She lost her fiancée for God’s sake Shannon! I couldn’t protect any of them. All of this is my fault”, said Christie, tears brimming slowly her over eyes threatening to spill.

“Stop talking bullshit now Chri, you know it couldn’t be help, the mission was a risky one, everybody knew it, this is why we are in the army whether we like it or not” scolded back Shannon.

Christie still blamed herself for all that had happened. Most of their squad was captured save for Shannon who managed to escape. Time passed until she found two inattentive guards. She quietly took them out and moving to a safe location she contacted HQ, requesting for backup. Backup in Latvia was hard to send, considering it was overrun by Russians, and the only thing left to do was to send the 2 squads that were in those vicinities, Abby’s and another squadron. By the time they arrived and stormed the location, only Christie and 2 young Privates were found alive, most of the squad was brutally murdered and a person was missing – Sarah.

“I shouldn’t have proceeded with the mission Shannon, you know that… Abby was right, it was suicidal, the defence had increased, now I have the blood of all those youngsters on my hands. I’ve destroyed so many families. Sometimes I think why didn’t I die alongside of them?” quietly sobbed Christie her mind racing back to that day.

_“50 hours of constant reminder what hell is... The screams never subdued, our numbers kept decreasing one by one. In the last few hours he came… towering over me, his cold smug never leaving his mouth. He slowly bent down to my kneeling figure, the zip-tights now cutting through my feet and wrists and whispered, “Come…I want to show you something”… I was pulled up by two men, my bound feet dragging against the floor, too weak to make any struggle, too weak to even walk. We were dragged behind him until we came to a metal gate. I craned my heads upwards, my glance shifting between the metal poles of the gate and saw a woman… her arms tied behind her back and hung from them. The Strappado Equipment, one of the most gruesome tortures. Her face was grimacing in pain, small inaudible whimpers falling out of her lips, her face and shirt stained in red…It took me a while to recognise her bloodied face through her dishevelled hair but when I did all I could weakly whisper was “Sarah…”_

“Christie!! CHRISTIE!! Snap out of it! Listen to me, snap out of it” Shannon shook her, jolting Christie out of her daydream, her face in utter confusion.

“It’s her, Shannon… Sarah’s in my thoughts…I can’t bear the guilt anymore Boxxy, I need to get out of here. You don’t want to know what she passed through”

Shannon hugged her and held her tight murmuring calm and soothing words in her ear, her hand stroking gently her back. In return Christie rested her head on her shoulder and sobbed her guilt away. Times were a bleak future for Christie, many sleepless and tearful nights haunted her relentlessly. The only way that might lessen this nightmare would be by capturing Jason, but deep inside she knows that there is more chance of failure rather than success, and that caused her to sob more

“What about your children Pearcie? Would you want to have a broken family as well? Reason things out, would you like your children to be motherless?” soothingly Shannon continued to rub circles along Christie’s back trying to calm her. Through her thick jacket, she could feel her shoulder becoming wetter slowly, Christie’s tears seeping through. Her hand met a rough coarse material, corresponding to the current situation they were in.

“No… but I left families with a child less Shannon, what if your children never returned Boxxy? What if one of those killed was your child, would you be talking to me like this again?”

The conversation ended there. There were no more words to be said. Instead Shannon just kept on rubbing her back in circles, hoping that would comfort her more though she knew she needed more than just a rub and hug to ease everything away. The more she rubbed, the heavier the sobs.

“Shush now Pearcie, shhhh come on, wipe your eyes before the Colonel or Abby comes. We’ll get through this. We’ll get him, understand?”

Christie just nodded and wiped her eyes thanking Shannon for everything. The latter in return just patted her on the head sliding down her hand to her cheek, wiping away the tears with her thumb muttering smoothing and encouraging words ending them with a kiss on the cheek. A simple gesture which Christie treasured dearly as it reminded her of back home, her husband and her two little children.

From not too far away, Kelley observed the two women attentively. She had sensed that Megan’s explanation was a weak one, and this has just confirmed it. She wished to know what happened to cause this much tension in the squad but she guessed she would need time to be trusted more and more that she was a new one in the squad.

At that moment another figure moved down the hallway and everybody stopped. The silence was eerier than the one a few minutes before. Abby entered with a blank stare and was jolted out of her daydream when she saw all the squad looking at her as if a stranger entered. Her glance shifted to Christie and noticed the puffy red eyes and running nose even though the latter tried to hide the fact she was crying. She felt a wave of empathy but her ego made the emotions turn to anger. She stared at Christie with a penetrating look that made Christie go weak in the knees in fright and entered Boardroom 4, not caring the gossip that would erupt from that moment. She got used to the gossiping now. Again Kelley wondered more and more what had happened between Christie and Abby to cause this kind of reaction from all. She had noticed the glare but couldn’t understand anything. She wasn’t given time to ponder about it as Tom was seen walking down the hallway with several files in his hand signalling the briefing is about to commence. The hallway fell into a sudden silence and all stood at attention but he was too much focused to take notice of the gesture and quickened his pace to the centre of the room.

They were hot on his trail now, and he was determined not to fail this time.

***

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it :)   
> Will try to post the chapters very soon...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The briefing is not short of tension, the team begins to study all the available options in order to successfully carry out the mission although it seems quite harder than they previously thought

The standard safety shoes worn by each soldier in the army could be heard thudding throughout the boardroom, each thud’s echo surpassing the previous one, the mumbling intensifying the noise, making the room seem as if it was part of the streets of Spain in the Running of the Bulls.

The mumbling subdued, slowly transforming itself into an anxiety of fear. Their glassy eyes reflected the scene, recording it frame by frame. Abby towering over Tom’s smaller frame, their posture both ready to send fists flying towards each other wasn’t the scene they hoped for before a difficult and risky mission.

Christie and Hope slowly started edging closer towards the two, expecting a fight to erupt at any second. Christie couldn’t help but stare in Abby’s intense blue eyes, as if spitting out fire at Tom, wondering what caused this sudden rage. Her jawline was tight, her mouth barely agape, teeth seen baring from beneath, ready to lash out at Tom like a vicious lioness crawling upon its opponent. Her eyes did not move from the target, never breaking eye-contact. Her hand wrenching the chair harder with every passing second, every vein pulsing, forming on her skin, her muscles tensed showing all their shape from years of hard training.

The explosion erupted when Abby started screaming at Tom, an action that nobody ever dreamt of doing.

“Are you fucking kidding me Colonel? Just sending 12 of us against a damn fuckin’ fortress? Is that how you want to get rid of us, suicide? We didn’t manage with 30 back in Latvia let alone 12 now in an even securer fortress” Abby screamed, grabbing Tom by the uniform, crumpling the suit where her hands grabbed slamming him against the wall.

Both Christie and Hope quickened their pace, Hope grabbing Abby from behind pulling her enough for Christie to wiggle between the two pushing Tom back, separating the two from what would have been a bloody brawl.

Tom half wiggled out of Christie’s embrace and raised his right arm, his index finger protruding accusingly towards Abby. His breathing became heavier and his cheeks flushed redder by the second. His eyes beaded towards Abby and forcefully stringed a coherent sentence, his composure now fully left him.

“Stand down or its isolation for you for the rest of your miserable life, Soldier!” spat back Tom struggling against Christie to lash out at Abby, taking some of his anger against her, “And you! Rampone! Let go!” pushing her forcefully, straining her side. Christie let go, her pain in on the side where she was shot  finally gave in with the sudden action, leaving Tom open to charge Abby but Shannon read the situation well, anticipating Tom and grabbing him forcefully pushing him against the wall holding him in with a half-choke maneuver.

“Are you a Colonel or not? Are you going to explain us the mission, or are you going to continue aggravate the situation? Wake up colonel, no reality show cameras here! So less talking and more briefing, that is, if you want to truly catch Moraz” emphasizing the last part for effect.

Tom stared in her blue eyes, her glance stern but soft at the same time, leaving the desired effect to calm him. Shannon sensing his body unstiffening, released the hold and Tom proceeded to straighten his jacket. Abby on the other hand kept on trying to grumble but was held in place by Hope’s strong arms, her patience running low.

“ABBY! SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Hope screamed in her face, “This is all too much, if you really care about Sarah you’d shut the fuck up and let us start the damn briefing. Don’t blow up the small chance you have of her survival”

Abby froze, her face changing colour, her strength draining in Hope’s arms and tears brimming slowly. Her name still hurts. Whenever somebody mentioned the name Sarah, it felt like a spear piercing through her heart. She still couldn’t get over the fact that most probably she will never see her again. Slowly Hope sat her down, and sat right next to her. Abby turned to her, tears now gently sliding down her pale face.

“I can’t do this anymore Hope… I miss her too much” her voice croaking, breaking up with each passing word. It was the first time Abby’s character had broken down. She tried to sober up quick, not wanting to show her weaker side in front of the rest of the squad. Hope quietly squeezed Abby’s leg and gave her a small smile, hoping it would ease her a bit down. She was never good with sympathy, something that she never received nor ever wanted since she was a young child. Hardship raised her to be the strong, tough girl she is today and in certain situations she was glad that hardships were the sole companions of her childhood as she wouldn’t have made it this far otherwise.

Christie sat opposite Abby, a worried look taking over her face. Shannon saw the expression, and sat next to Christie. The rest of the troops grouped up with their usual friends and sat around the table.

Tom composed himself and proceeded to start the briefing, in front of him a wide array of files and folders were spread apart, some of them open, some had large maps sprawled upon the table.

“We believe Moraz is located in the province of Kotor, which is located in a bay with the same name. and is difficult to access, due to having a lot of closed waters. Entry is only from the Adriatic Sea, meaning from the Mediterranean Sea. Air access is also a bit difficult. Intel shows that heavy AA ships are deployed in the lake and also around the bastions of Kotor. Also Montenegro is famous for being full of mountains so moving around will be very difficult”

“So basically it’s practically impossible to get there right?” Abby inquired.

“By sea would be the hardest, unless you are willing to dive and swim the whole way which I do not recommend. The only thing we can do is drop you off by plane, we will try to be as discreet as possible and you sky dive from there. The Fortress in question is called Vrmac Fortress. It recently has been partly rebuilt and upgraded to be a real prison, so poor are the bastards who will end up there”

“That will be probably us then” Abby snorted, disgust in her voice showing she didn’t agree with the plan at all.

“Shut the hell up Wambach” a voice called from the back, Ashlyn’s, who couldn’t stand Abby’s nagging any longer, “if you got an idea share it instead of nagging”

“Enough” barked Tom, and all fell quiet.

Hope quickly calmed down Abby who was already fuming over Ashlyn’s words. Ashlyn in turn was calmed by Ali who the last thing she ever wanted was a brawl between the two, knowing it would end up ugly.

The large map sprawled over the table was studied by all the troops, trying to find a solution about what can be done in order to avoid as much suspicion as possible.

“This mountain isn’t the highest at least” retorted Kelley, “Only 720 meters mostly compared to the 1.2k minimum by the others”

“It’s still around 200 floors or more we’re talking about here Kelley, so don’t think it’s an easy way down, or worse, up” commented ruefully PFC Sydney Leroux.

Christie stood silent of amongst all, capturing the map all in her mind, Vrmac fortress was in the older part of Kotor. The village itself was full of fortifications, the enlarged map of the old city confirms that, and could imagine that heavy sentries would be put all around the fortifications even if in reality, they don’t have anything to do with the old city itself.

“Access by waters is impossible, the bay would be closely guarded and as luck would have it, the old city itself is too close to the water, unless we dive the whole way we cannot do anything without having a very high risk of getting caught. The mountains are also a bit unpredictable around that area, so the most sensible thing would be to drop off a bit further away from the target and move from there. I see no better way to deal with this” said Christie eyeing every troop including the Colonel.

“There is also a tunnel, which connects Kotor with a motor way, so we need to avoid that area. There would be too much security and checkpoints” Kelley suggested.

“I agree with Christie” Tom nodded, “Actually Skaljari lies with the sea so sea access is unthinkable, especially with the islets. Also the Fort is midway in the mountains so even if we manage to sneak into the town which is heavily guarded, in order to head there, we need to climb from the highway meaning open space. Forget that you’ll climb from the mountain part unless you plan to climb 700 meters upwards. By air is the best bet, we’ll fly from Slovenia as we have allies there, since Tivat has an airport so expect heavy AA military. Any questions?” Tom finished.

“This is madness” Abby muttered under her breath disdain in her voice audible enough to the whole room.

“Is there a problem Abby? You can always go in confinement if you do not like this” Tom sarcastically spat.

“The only ass that should be in confinement is yours for this suicide mission” Abby spat back, but a hand and a warning glance from Hope told her otherwise rather than continuing to grumble.

“Are you finished?” Tom ignoring her, knowing it’s the best solution, “Fort Vrmac has been restructured, so this is the new plan. It has 4 entry ways in all excluding the one on the roof. One of them is found at a sub-terrain level. The Roof is now also barbed-wire and has 6 Machine Guns and 3 AA Guns deployed on it. Security is tight and CCTV cameras are operational at every corner which can be short-circuited by an EMP grenade. The main entrance has 2 towers newly added each holding an AA gun. The main entrance leads to an external courtyard in which one can access every part of the structure. The main offices are at the back. The prison cells are on the right hand side your orders are as follows. “You’ll first need to disable the security system, mostly the CCTVs and the lighting. If you can loop a video of the CCTV it would be wiser. This would eliminate the guards knowing a CCTV is down. If video looping is impossible, proceed with EMP. In which case you’d better eliminate the security of the main entrance beforehand. The courtyard has several blind spots in which you need to take advantage of. If possible disable the AA so more backup can help but main priority is Moraz. There are several Prisoners you also need to free. Stealth is of an utmost importance here”

“Roger that sir. When are we leaving” Christie asked.

“You are to go arm yourselves now and prepare to leave for Slovenia ASAP. You are to start the mission at 0245 hours.”

“That quick?!” Ali squealed, “We can’t even prepare ourselves fully”

“You always have been prepared, Moraz might move again and this time we won’t have the intel... You are all dismissed” Tom ended.

“Ok Let’s go troops” Christie commanded.

Tom was the first one to trot out of the room, glad that with all the hiccups that happened during the briefing, no real issues arose. He was still worried and sceptical about Abby’s involvement, but couldn’t do anything against it. Deep inside he knew that Abby wanted to go on that mission to revenge Sarah, but blinding anger will only lead towards more problems.

Back in the room, the whole squad shuffled outside to meet Dawn, to equip them for the mission, all save for Abby who still sat down with a blank glance staring at the open space in front of her...daydreaming. Christie noticed, and waited for all the troops to leave and began to move cautiously slowly towards her, keeping herself ready from any sudden movements that Abby might do, instead the latter put her head between her hands and started sobbing.

“Hey...shhhh it’s going to be ok” Christie softly said, putting a hand on Abby’s shoulder causing a jolt from Abby. The latter quickly turned but immediately relaxed and let Christie, an enemy in her own eyes, to actually take her in and hug her. All the anger, guilt and disdain she had pent up inside of her against Christie immediately drained away and sobbed in her newly-found friend’s shoulder. Christie on the other hand kept her arms around her, her cheek resting on Abby’s head.

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened 3 months ago, If I could just turn the time back... I would”

“You don’t need to say anything... it wasn’t your fault and I’m sorry for always pointing fingers at you... it was a failed mission from the start, pretty much like this one. I pity the young ones coming with us today”

Christie felt herself froze, all the time Abby blamed her, and at the end she started to believe it, now she changed the whole story. Their past shadows were slowly fading away and a new bond was starting to forge. All she could mutter were five words

“We will find her Abby”

***

The squad started its shuffling slowly towards the Armoury, step after step closer to leaving the country, closer to confront death face-to-face. The silence that engulfed them was unsettling, causing more anxiety within each troop’s heart. Kelley broke the silence, the uneasiness taking over her, and wanted to break it any way possible. She had to know about Jason, and most of all why Abby and Christie are always at a standoff, and mostly, why Abby hates Jason so much.

“What has Jason done that makes Abby hates him so much?” her tiny voice echoing in the hallway causing a reaction from all the troops. She observed their faces, all heads hung low, avoiding the question completely. She eyed every woman, but judging from their faces, she knew she wasn’t going to get an answer. Shannon slowly stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder, pausing a second to capture Kelley’s attentive glance.

“We don’t talk about that... it’s their personal lives” Shannon quietly said.

“But at least tell me what this Jason did... he seems to be close to you”

“Jason as you know was the cause of this war... but we never knew that until 9 months ago when a defected agent revealed that Jason is actually a double-agent, well actually he a Russian born agent to be honest... He was very close to our section, always providing us intel, now we know how sometimes the enemy had already relocated or they ambushed us. All the intel was just a setup”

“That I know, but... what happened 3 months ago?” Kelley curiously asked again her eyes pleading to know.

“That you do not need to know” Shannon cut back a bit too harshly noticing the sudden reaction in Kelley’s face. Feeling a bit sorry she tried to ease it up a bit, “It is better if you don’t know what happened” she finished.

Kelley’s face was white and hung low, Shannon’s reaction caught her off-guard and turning around she found that all the squad had the same glassy stare about this issue. Thinking it must be a really black mark for them, she let it go again for the 2nd time in the day. She tried imaging what happened, or at least what she thought it happened, until her mind popped back that name they were mentioning...

“Who is Sarah?”

“Kid, stop the questions, you ain’t gonna get any answers ya hear? You’re in the army, not in a gossip club, you are given orders and you are to execute them with NO QUESTIONS ASKED”. Ashlyn said finally losing her patience, moving each step with growing anger towards Kelley finger protruding forward, her last words touching the youngster’s chest. Kelley stood there in fright, she didn’t know she had hit such a tender issue and Ashyln’s reaction scared her to death.

“I was just asking”

“You don’t fucking ask” The blonde’s face turned into a snarl, her eyes sparkling in anger. Kelley saw something sparkling at the base of her eyes, her hand curling into a fist, ready to fly in her direction.

“Ash, calm down, please, it’s going to be ok, don’t take it against Kelley she has nothing to do with it” Ali pleaded scared, taking Ashlyn’s curled fist in her hand, “she was just asking... come on, relax ok? Come here…” pulling Ash away slowly from Kelley leaving Kelley to shake on her own.

Most of the team had started to wander off towards the Armoury after Ali pulled Ash away, leaving Kelley to face Megan who stayed behind.

“You just don’t get it don’t you? You don’t ask questions here O’Hara if you want to keep that pretty face. You were lucky that Ali held Ash, but if it were Abby who heard that question, doubt you would be talking to me.” Megan commented.

Kelley slid her back down the wall, in an upright sitting position, “What the hell happened?”

“O’Hara…listen to me, some things are best left unsaid. Just a little friendly advice” and with that Megan left to join the others at the armoury.

Kelley took a couple of minutes before collecting herself up and stood up slowly. Thoughts engulfed her, Ashlyn’s reaction frightened her and she knew that now she was on the bad books of the squad. The small distant voices she ignored a couple of seconds before became louder and louder before each passing second and it was useless to try and escape them, even if she wanted to.

“Hey O’Hara, what are you doing here alone?” Christie confusedly asked.

Kelley turned bright red and didn’t utter a word, she replayed Megan’s words over and over again, emphasising on Abby’s part. What seemed strange now was that Abby was talking to Christie, and walking together. What happened? She kept on asking herself knowing she can’t raise this question to the general public. The other two noticed the discomfort in her face and started to get worried.

“Kelley, what’s the matter kid? Are you feeling sick? Did they say something to you?” Christie’s voice was of a total concern seeing Kelley in a total drooping state. She guessed it could be something about the rift that had happened just earlier but she didn’t know that the others might have actually screamed at her.

Kelley could feel their eyes trained on her, and she didn’t know whether to feel comfortable that someone actually cared or scared for the fact that she has to tell what’s worrying her. She tried to mumble a weak excuse but could see that both of them saw right through the lie.

“I...I...I’m ok, I just need to clear my thoughts for tomorrow that’s all. Stress is taking a toll on me”

“Kelley...Tell me what happened” Christie smiled, trying to ease the young one, who looked under great stress.

“No guys, seriously I’m ok, just let’s go to the armoury” and with that she sped off away from them before they could query again. Both of them had a confused look and looked at each other, both their faces incomprehensive about what had just happened transpired. Both dismissing it, they started moving towards the armoury ready to equip themselves.

“What’s with that kid?” Abby broke the silence.

“She’s just a kid, over-eager about everything...”

“Until she gets on the battlefield... but I’m talking about now, she’s not herself”

“Could have been the others told her something... but let them deal on their own, I’m sure it’s nothing big”

“I hope so… I don’t want her to get killed from lack of concentration”

“How come you’re so protective over Kelley?” Inquired Christie.

But Abby didn’t respond, or moreover, she didn’t have an answer herself.  Instead they walked in silence engulfed in their own thoughts. For some reason, Kelley reminded Abby of Sarah, her up spirited character and everlasting grin were traits that Sarah possessed as well so it was no surprise that Abby actually did genuinely care for Kelley.

Their daydreaming was soon halted by the gloomy building that loomed before them. The thick heavy metallic doors rounded the whole entrance, making unauthorised access close to impossible. The guards behind the door looked like ancient mythical people, defending a precious secret from falling in the hands of the enemy, glaring at the two women requesting to pass.

“Identifications please” barked one of the guards, his gruff voice matching the tone of the surroundings.

The women held out their passes, worn around the edges from frequent use, the plastic protective cover slowly peeling. The guard eyed them thoroughly, matching the photo to their faces.

“Spread your arms and legs please for search”

The girls abided to the directions, doing as they were told. The other guard began patting them none too gently, not minding that they are of different gender, the differences seem to disappear for a second.

“Clear” the second guard said and the passes were returned back.

“You know the drill, swipe the card and use finger recognition, Dawn is waiting inside, the others have already passed”

The cards were swiped and the metal doors clanked when they opened, the smell of metal granules in the air was a bit suffocating but at the same time homely. The last few years their home was the battleground and the smell gave a homely feeling.

A short walk down the narrow corridor led them to their destination. The counter, surrounded by a metal gate resembled the people inside it like chickens in a chicken coop soon off to their death. A familiar person came up to the counter and gasped in surprised when she saw Christie. Her face turned into a wide grin, rubbing her eyes jokingly to see if they were deceiving her.

“Pearcie! Oh my God! Pearcie!! How’s you! God I’d never thought I’ll see you in this bunker again. All thought you’re all goners! How’d the hell you survived that! Never thought there would be survivors”

“It was close Dawn...too close for comfort” her voice lowered and her head drooping. Not this mission again please, not in front of Abby please.

“Moraz again… It seems they never want to stop chasing the bas…” her voice faded away instantly upon seeing Abby towering behind Christie. Abby heard the 6-word taboo phrase, and it stung… “How’d the hell you survived that” kept repeating itself in her head, and tried her best to push the negative thoughts, to not hate Christie. Instead she calmly walked behind Christie and half-waved Dawn.

“Hey Dawn” half-smiled Abby.

“Oh, hey Abby... how are you holding up?” half-smiled back Dawn. The smile was fake, full of discomfort, her face twitching. Abby saw through it, but decided against making it worse even though Abby’s glare was enough of a response to Dawn.

“Dawn, what’s our stash this time?”  Christie asked, hoping both would move on from the issue. The change was greatly appreciated and Dawn gladly changed the topic to the weaponry one.

“Well the standard for you two, an M-4 Carbine in case you need some heavy firepower which from the looks of it you will. M1911A1 Colt which could also be fitted with a suppressor, an AN/PVS-14 Night Vision Goggles, A Mollie vest, a Flak Vest and some grenades. The only variations with the others are that Hope wields a M40A1 Sniper Rifle, Carli has a SINCGARS RT-1523E Radio and some EMP grenades. Those are mostly the differences”

“Shouldn’t we get some extra EMP just in case?” Abby asked.

“Sure, I’ll throw you some Wambach” Dawn’s flat reply.

Christie nodded in acknowledgement and waited for Dawn to get back at the end of the room, moving closer to another metallic door, secured by a keycard. Dawn swiftly swiped it and disappeared in the room.

***

The inside of the armoury was rather narrow, with guns of all sorts lined up and stacked one with another without much space. After that confrontation, the room felt claustrophobic and a feeling of nausea took over.

“Silly question Dawn to ask, God why did Abby have to be behind her…” regaining herself she picked up the first two M4A1s and checked that all is in place, the recoil, nuzzle and all the standard procedures and moved closer to the gun case. The M19A11s felt good in her hand.

“In situations like these I wish to be in the battlefield rather than a damn bunker”

 

***

Dawn’s words still lingered in her head, how could have Christie survived all that? Why her and not Sarah? Why not both? Her stare was getting glassier by the second and the fiddling with the engagement ring attracted Christie’s attention.

“Abby…” slowly said Christie.

“It’s not your fault Chri…”

“I’m sorry….”

“For what?”

“For what she said… it wasn’t appropriate, I’m sorry”

Abby sighed, slowly raising her hand to rest it on Christie’s shoulder, a small genuine smile appearing in the corner of her mouth. Something she hasn’t done for a long time

“You need to stop saying sorry”

“Sorry…”

“You’ve done it again” chuckled Abby, causing Christie to smile as well, the tension slowly draining. “It wasn’t your fault… It’s a fucked up war and we’re the puppets, some has have paid the price for others...”

“I’m sor..”

“Shhhh… What did I tell you? You don’t have to excuse yourself, you’ve tried your best… you can’t save 30 people all at one go, besides, it was the misleading intel or better call it ‘the spy’s intel’ from our side which got us into that mess”

“I wish I saved her Abby…”

“I know… I wish both of you were safe without a scratch” lightly tapping her side, unwillingly reminding Christie of the gunshot. Her next words were silently whispered, afraid of the answer “Was she in pain Christie?”

***

“AAAAGHHHHH” the high pitch scream erupted from her throat for the 5th time in one minute, “God please make it stop” screamed the young woman, her side crackling from where the tazer gun electrocuted her.

“Moraz you bastard stop that. You fucking bastard it’s me you want, stop taking it on the others” I screamed at him, knowing it won’t do a thing.

“Oh, I know that it’s you who I want, but I want to helplessly see your own squad dying because of your incompetence” switching the zapping device on again and pressing it forcefully to Sarah’s side leaving her to scream and kick in mid-air again.

I bit my lip hard, drawing blood, I looked slowly at Sarah, her eyes pleading in pain…begging me to make everything stop. But I couldn’t and she knew that…her sobs increased, her breath ragged, her parting lips begging and whimpering for mercy, the panic taking a toll over her, mixed with all the pain hitting every nerve of her body. Jason smiled…that evil smirk which I detested curling at the corners of his mouth, slowly walked towards her. Dropping the tazer gun he stood beside her, caressing her face in a mocking manner. He slid both his hand slowly down to her side and pulled her from the waist downwards towards the floor. Her eyes closed shut, her breathing became strained and tried to soften her whimpers whilst trying to pull herself upwards again…with no success.

“No No Please, AAAAAA” Her bound hands behind her back, strapped securely to a plank above her shoulders, were too weak to fight against Jason’s strong pull. The Strappado equipment rendered her useless. He continued pulling amidst her screams, and then, the sound I dreaded to hear suddenly happened … a crack. Sarah’s screams subdued, her eyes locked for one brief moment to mine, terror taking over her white-ashen face before slumping unconscious, half-floating in mid-air. Her left shoulder looked totally dislocated, and it wasn’t a surprise. This equipment was made for that, a torture for 30 minutes most, she had suffered 4 hours of it… I’m even surprised both her shoulders are still bolted in place.

“How did you like the show Rampone” his evil laugh sending a chill down my spine, “She is a tough lady this one, shows who she’s engaged to…”

“Leave Abby out if it”

“Oh I will…Enjoy dealing with her if you live to see her again that is…which I doubt” his laughter increasing. His hands reached for the pouch over his heart containing a standard knife. He slowly wielded it in his hands, lightly dragging it over my face before pressing into my cheek a bit, the droplets of blood sliding down on the floor before moving on Sarah’s unconscious form.

“What are you going to do to her...Jason get the fuck away from her” I tried struggling against the restraints but it was no use. His smug widened watching me struggle… he toyed with his knife around her face, up and down several times before stepping on a stool and cut off the restrains that kept her mid-air, dropping her with a thud, her dislocated shoulder showing more, her head knocking harder on the floor.

“Now…” his voice boomed, “What shall we do to you…”

I looked at Sarah’s broken form, her face covered by her hair, her body finally resting in the unconscious state she was in … a lump grew in my throat, sudden terror freezing my body. I slowly looked towards Jason…

… The glint in his eyes did not promise me anything good…

***

“Christie! CHRISTIE” Abby nudged roughly Christie. Christie’s glassy stare focused slowly back to normal, looking at Abby with a terrified look.

“Look, I’m sorry for…for re-enacting the nightmare again, I…I just can’t stop thinking about Sarah” Abby apologised

“How do you remember her last?” suddenly asked Christie.

“What?”

“How do you remember her last?” again asked Christie.

Abby’s confusion could be seen from miles away. It was a strange question, and deep inside she was guessing that Sarah did not have a pleasant trip back in the mission.

“I remember her ever smiling and her face always radiant and..”

“Good…” chimed in Christie, “Keep that image… please Abby, keep that image, you do not want to see her in the state I saw her”

“How did you see her?” Abby begged, her eyes starting to glitter.

“It’s best not to know how”

Abby was about to chime in again but Dawn cut them short. Her small lean figure was seen walking slowly towards them. The machine guns looked bigger than her and the scene was a bit amusing, watching her balance the guns, her equilibrium never failing. The guns were slowly put on the counter, caressing them as she put them as if they were little kids.

“What do you think of these beauties?” Dawn asked, looking at the two guns in awe

“They would be nice if they weren’t so destructive” Abby ruefully commented still admiring the craftsmanship.

“Here’s the ammunition and grenades” handing them out 6 clips of 5.56mm ammunition for the machine gun together with 4 standard M67 grenades and 2 EMP grenades each. Also you’ve got 4 clips of .45 ammo.

“Woah, 6 clips? Isn’t that overboard” Abby commented, surprised at the amount of ammo.

“You would be surprised Abby, don’t forget, there are no allies this time”

“Thanks Dawn” smiled Christie, taking the M4A1 by its strap. She held the gun, weighing it in her hands, feeling the cold metal knowing how hot that nozzle will soon become when the shooting starts, closed her eyes and breathed heavily. She wore the strap and put the machine gun behind her back. Her hand slowly slid to the counter, sliding the handgun towards her, pocketing it on the side all under the watchful eyes of Abby and Dawn, who noticed the discomfort she was in.

“You…feeling ok Christie?” Abby asked.

“Yeah yeah, take the stash, we’ll move on. Three months off the field is making me jittery”

Dawn smiled softly, extending her hand from the counter towards both of the girls. The girls understood, and a warm hearty handshake was exchanged.

“Go get ‘em girls, make him pay” looking directly at Abby.

“Oh don’t worry, his debts are too high up to escape this time Dawn” Abby pressing tighter in the handshake.

***

Abby and Christie calmly entered the changing room where the rest of the squad was changing. All heads turned up when they saw them walking together without the lust of killing each other, much to their surprise but albeit glad that at least the commanding officers were getting along.

“Someone looks like they made up” joking taunted Megan.

Abby winked at her, the same old grin forming on her mouth amongst the cheers of the troops.

“Boooyaahhh, you owe me 10 bucks Ashlyn” screamed Boxxy at the tops of her lungs

“What for? Ok what’s going on?” Christie asked.

“I made a bet with Ash that by the end of the day you would be friends again or at least acquaintances” Shannon smiled.

“And I lost…” Ash sadly smiled.

“Faithless much?” Abby joked.

“No, it was the only option I could choose” Ashlyn pouted.

The whole squad laughed at that, her mockingly drooping state making it funnier as she parted the 10 dollars to Shannon wailing to her.

“My precious 10 dollars” Ashlyn said, making a perfect imitation of Gollum.

Kelley only didn’t join the laughter, still scared of the previous encounter against the rest of the squad. Abby went to her side quietly, startling her with unintentionally.

“Hey” Abby quietly smiled.

“H-H-Hey…” the stammering response came back, her face turning into a bright red flush.

“I know you have a lot of questions, being new and all”

“It’s…It’s not my business to know” Kelley’s weak reply came back.

“But I know that you wish to know…it’s human nature” smiled Abby, putting her hand on her shoulder pulling her into a hug, “How about at the smallest chance I’ll have, I’ll tell you all about it?”

Kelley’s smile was genuine, relaxed at not being in Abby’s black books, “Everything?”

“Yeah, even about Sarah…just for you to know… she is… well was…my fiancée”

“Oh I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it… I’m learning to accept it”

“Don’t give up hope…”

“I’m not”

“You are… you’re talking past tense about her”

“I’ll rephrase… Sarah is my fiancée” a small painful smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

“That’s better, we’ll find her…alive” Kelley’s spirits coming back up jostling in her place making Abby chuckle.

Christie’s voice boomed all over, instructing them to gather up so they can proceed to the designated airpad which eventually will take them to the start of the mission. Her voice was strong, the strongest it had ever been, filling the troops with courage.

“It’s now or never girls, either this bastard goes down, or we are…and the latter option is inadmissible.  Moraz has gone too far, and it’s time that he pays for what he has done. So what’ll you say? LET’S GET HIM”

The cheers erupted, the troops huddled their weaponry and proceeded to the door leading to the airpad, determination filling each one of them.

***

  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't look very bright for the squad, some memories are too painful.   
> Will they manage to overcome them and succeed the mission?
> 
> PS!! This Chapter is a bit graphic.. well graphic, just might grit your teeth a bit

_“What shall we do to you?”  Jason snickered turning towards me._

_I gulped, I looked at Sarah’s broken unconscious form. Dislocated shoulder, blood and sweat stuck to her like glue. It wasn’t a pretty sight. She endured several hours of torture, something which might even bring the strongest men down. I tried not to think what was next for me…_

_He moved slowly but steadily, only stopping to pick something up from the floor. My heart froze, my panic ~~started~~ growing frantically but I couldn’t show him that. He clicked the device, and it started crackling. The lump in my throat grew exponentially, I couldn’t escape… the ties binding me were too strong, too tight for me to even make a movement. I tried struggling to maybe ease them a bit but it just resulted in his smug smile growing wider as he stood in front of me._

_Once I stopped struggling, he slowly began kneeling down to eye level with me._

_“How does it feel Rampone, to be so helpless?” he chuckled._

_Slowly raising his stun gun, he put it against my temple, the two cold metal rods sending chills up my spine over and over again. I braced myself for the moment he presses the button and instinctively closed my eyes._

_“Scared Christie?” his voiced boomed_

_“Why are you doing this? Why?” My voice croaked, barely outputting the words_

_He teasingly dragged down the device from my temple down to my face and neck, chuckling at my heavy breathing the soft begging that escaped my lips. He continued sliding south over my T-Shirt. When he reached the end of it, he trailed back up under my shirt over my abdominals._

_“You want to know why I’m doing this?” he leaned whispering in my ear trailing south again with his gun. Panic started to consume me, control had long left me. He stopped his device at my waistline, slowly dipping the device under my trousers pushing it against my skin. My eyes closed again, silent prayers were said in my mind._

_”This little toy is going to give us hours of fun isn’t it ehh Comrades?” he addressed the other soldiers guarding the room before turning to me again, “I’ll soon tell you why but first…”_

_The device crackled. I screamed, the others cheered._

Christie woke up violently, jerking the seatbelt holding her nearly out of place. Sweat clenched her clothing tighter to her body, giving her the feeling of suffocation, her lungs screaming for air from the recent events. After a few deep breaths, her mind tried to clear the haze, trying to remember where she actually is. The dim light did not help and it took a couple of long seconds looking from side to side, and several bodies in deep slumber, to remember she was on an aircraft from the US for Slovenia to commence the operation, capturing the tormentor who gave her nightmares every night.

The silence that reigned inside the aircraft was unsettling to her. The troops in their deep slumber, together with the dim light resembled as if they were dead, their bodies sitting motionless against the seats they were sitting in, causing Christie to briefly panic, her pulse to race faster and her breathing to become rougher than before

“Hey…” came a soft sleepy voice from her right, the soldier’s hand softly touching Christie’s arm

The touch startled her and slowly turned towards the voice, still shaken from the nightmare. The touch was somehow calming as she knew that her troops were actually alive and all of this was just a wild hallucination from the nightmare and the effect of war. Her eyes locked with the other soldier’s green soft uneasy eyes portraying the worry they had for Christie herself.

“You feeling fine ma’am?” the young soft voice asked again, worried about Christie’s terrified face, “I heard you panting, is everything ok?”

“I’m sorry O’Hara…Did I wake you? I’m really sorry” Christie whispered

“It’s ok, I couldn’t sleep much either”

“What’s bothering you?”  

“Nothing of importance, just uneasy about the mission. More importantly, what’s bothering you? You sounded like you were getting banged up back there... nightmares?” pressed on Kelley.

Christie hung her head low, closing her eyes. The nightmare recurred in her mind. She felt him towering over her, his ever-widening smug as he toyed with the stun gun in his hand. She touched the gunshot scar, his most prized mark on her, and started shriveling, small sobs and gasps escaping her lips. Kelley noticed and tightened the grip on her arm, softly speaking to her to get her out of the trance.

“Lt. Hey, hey it’s going to be OK. I’m here, shhh calm down” Kelley soothingly said, caressing Christie’s arm. The effect was immediate, Christie’s sobs slowly subdued. Kelley raised her hand, caressing her mentors face, wiping away the tears off her eyes, with the woman’s response being snuggling closer to the hand.

“What’s the matter Rampone?”

“I…I dreamt about 3 months ago again” Christie’s flat reply came out, trying to be as quiet as possible.

“What did he do to you? And what caused this anger of his to act this way?”

 Kelley had longed for a long time to know what had happened to cause ~~all this~~ this entire stir, and saw this chance as the only time she would at least know the basics of a story in which she was a protagonist of by being in the line of fire.

“He’s a messed up guy…”

_**_

_The screams that escaped my throat were uncontrollable, the red circle on my pelvis expanding unevenly with my struggles where the stun gun was held. I couldn’t move or writhe away from his gun, the soldier behind me keeping me in place was too strong. My breathing became shallow, not able to breathe properly. The burning sensation was increasing by the millisecond. My flesh felt as if had a blowtorch aimed at it_

_“Aaaaaaaagh, stop it!!” I screamed and begged, tears falling down my face_

_The device flickered off allowing me to try and catch my breath again._

_“Please Jason, why? Stop it….please” I begged pitifully, sobbing throughout._

_His laughter was full of hatred, merciless. “And why should I stop?” he asked_

_“What have we done to you to act like this damn it?”_

_“What you have done? You really forgot or are you just playing dumb?”_

_“What the fuck are you talking about?” I screamed back, earning a punch on the side of my face, knocking me flat to the side, my jaw felt slightly dislocated._

_“Don’t you dare raise your voice with me Rampone and to refresh your memory a bit, 1963 during the Vietnam war, A Marshall was executed for treason, a treason with no foundations, all made up, a set up just because he was on the verge of uncovering a plan which involved drug smuggling with the highest officials of the army. For trying to make justice he was accused of working with the enemies and was shot, DO YOU REMEMBER THAT?!” he screamed at my face, raising the stun gun to my abdominals forcing it into the skin  and flickering it back on leaving me screaming._

_After long seconds of constant shock, burns and my heart nearly failing he took it away from my body, leaving me to writhe on the ground. Slowly I tried to bring myself into fetal position to lessen the pain, but he didn’t give me time. Grabbing me from my throat he jerked me to his eye-level. His pale blue eyes were as cold as arctic ice, but fueled by anger. He hissed at me slowly,_

_“Do you remember him, you must have read about him”_

_I slowly gulped, I had read about him, a foreign Marshall who rose to that rank with multiple important missions throughout the Vietnam war only to be caught and charged with treason as he was trading drugs for intel… or suspected that is._

_“Yes…I…remember” I croaked, the hand tightening around my neck._

_“And do you remember what was his name?”_

_“Vladimir Dmitrorivich” I slowly said, realization hitting me. My eyes grew in fear as the connection was made, ”No.., It Can’t be” I tried to sputter, Jason’s hand making it nearly impossible to speak._

_“Yes it is… your so called freedom fighter army charged my grandfather with treason and illegal drug trafficking, something THEY were doing. They shouldered the blame on him, killed an innocent person._

_“They found evidence that he did it” I tried to convince myself as I knew there were many questions about that case but I wasn’t going let him know that._

_“BULLSHIT!” he screamed, pushing me back hard to the ground. “It was all a set up! Everybody knew! But nobody talked, instead they let my granddad die!” a shiny droplet forming at his eye “and for this your nation has to suffer” lowering the stun gun and giving it another go._

_“What d.d..d…does this has t…o do with us?” I cried_

_“I’m not finished” he screamed, kicking me hard in the side. I tried breathing slowly, deeply, but my side wouldn’t let me. The pain was unbearable_

_“1989… the year the Cold War should have ended, Gorbachev & Bush were to meet somewhere around in Malta, to end the war. My father, Sergei Chevchenkov had coordinated everything in order for this Cold War to end. He was one of the chiefs in the DOD and held power. Instead Bush and his lackeys accused him of trying to stall the war in order to give time for the Soviets to gear up with the Nuclear War. They found documents which showed that he was the son of Vladimir Dmitrovich. He had changed his name after what happened, in order to protect us. So they accused him again of treason and made a public story out of it, just because he was the son of another innocent victim. This is the pitiful country you live in, this is whom you serve Christie. These hypocrites, these monsters and YOU are a part of it. They tortured him, battered him to death. They humiliated him, just because he wanted to end a war” spat Jason, his control losing him over the grief of his father_

_I gulped, I felt sorry for him for a second, but the sorry feelings soon left me. He walked slowly towards me, instructing 2 soldiers to keep me on my back, stretched. My rib ached with pain when they put my hands above my head. I stifled a whimper, not liking what was in store for me next. Jason slowly straddled me, my eyes grew in fear and panic. He lifted my shirt off, leaving me with just my undergarment, and played with the stun gun in hand._

_“Shall we?” he said as he put the gun against my chest._

_**_

By the time Christie finished the story, she was shaking hard. Kelley was white-ashen. She had heard the torture that went on in wars, all breaking the Geneva Convention, but she never imagined they were this bad. She slowly pulled Christie as much as she could from the seat-belts, and played with her hair, trying to calm her down.

“So Jason went against the whole nation and contributed to start this war, to avenge his father and grandfather?”

“Partly yes, situation was always bad, things did take a turn for the worst when his father was killed, but neither of us knew it was his father”

“I’m sorry you had to pass through all that” Kelley quietly said, “and I’m sorry for being a jerk and made you remember” as she kept stroking her hair

“I should be strong and lead this team, while in fact I’m broken here in front of the youngest squad member. What kind of a leader am I?” Christie quietly sobbed.

“A leader who went through and seen a lot to try and save her squad. Don’t be so hard on yourself”

“What’s all this commotion you two? Are you trying to wake the whole plane?” Abby’s sleepy voice whispered. The seat belt buckle unclasped and Abby hovered slowly near Christie. “Can’t sleep again?”

“Nightmares…”

“I can imagine, you ok O’Hara?” Abby turned her attention to the youngest one still holding Christie in her embrace, without the intention of letting go.

“Yeah I’m OK… I couldn’t sleep with the mission, and also heard her crying”

Abby lowered herself to Christie’s eye level, planting slowly a light kiss on her temple. Christie’s grip over Kelley became tighter

“Why don’t you two get some sleep?”

Both nodded, and Christie tried to snuggle further in Kelley’s embrace. Her clothes felt warm compared to hers and softer. Wherever Kelley’s face brushed against Christie’s face, it left a warm fuzzy feeling of someone being there for Christie. An emotion she much needed now.

Abby left them be and glanced briefly at her military watch, it flashed 03:48, still ample of time to even get across the ocean let alone Slovenia. She figured it was going to be a tough war as they entered Europe. Great Britain, France and Germany were finding it hard to keep standing against the Reds. The Russians had already seized the Balkans and Finland, slowly creeping towards Sweden and Germany. Japanese troops had already managed to infiltrate certain parts of Germany although they had been pushed back. Jason had to be stopped he had the key to all. He was the mastermind behind this era of the war, he materialized it when he pulled the trigger 16 months back. Now that his predecessor had died in war, it was his turn to shine and the results showed.

Christie stayed motionless in her seat, being cuddled by Kelley. What if they didn’t kill his grandfather back then? What if they had actually brought to justice the people needed to be charged with treason? Would have all of this be avoided? Would have the whole war been avoided? By now, she thought, most probably she would have retired, enjoying her husband and her children instead of worrying whether something has happened to them or whether they had been hit by a bomb or so. She knew the new underground bunkers they built were specifically against Nuclear weapons and their radiation and that her family was actually safe… but what if a leakage happened? She tried to block the thoughts. This wasn’t the time for worst case scenarios to be played in her head. She had a mission, she had to stop the person who brought and started this destruction, catching him would mean the near end of this war.

Abby was stuck in her memory lane as well. She slowly went back to her seat, slowly dipping her head into her hands. Had it not been for the war, by now she and Sarah would have been married, chasing childhood dreams like opening businesses or continue a bit of soccer. But the uneasiness that had settled in the country from far way back, lead them to forcefully join the army at a young age destroying every dream they had. Had it not been for the war, by now she would most probably be somewhere in Portland, sipping beer, on the veranda together with Sarah and maybe a kid of their own. Her only dream now is to find Sarah alive…winning the lottery also has a higher probability than this. She looked at each soldier, each with their own history that mostly she knew about…wondering what would they be doing right now instead of sitting in an encapsulated room smelling of metal.

Abby lifted her head, and looked in front of her, Megan sleeping clutching tightly a small koala bear keychain. She smiled, that koala bear meant everything to her as it connected her with the Australian she left behind to join in this madhouse.

**

“ _That thing brings me luck and don’t you DARE take it away from me Wambach” Megan pushed Abby backwards amongst the laughter of the whole squad._

_“Oh Really? And may I ask why?” Abby teased. She knew the answer why but she wanted to embarrass the little blonde in front of her_

_“You know why” whispered back Megan not wanting to arouse suspicion on herself_

_“OK Rapinoe spit it out who’s the girl?” Ashlyn flatly pressed forward, unconcerned about the embarrassment in due to Megan_

_Megan just turned red and hid away the bear_. _The gig was up and they all waited for her to talk_

_“Walsh” she whispered_

_“Whaaaat? You don’t mean Sarah Walsh for the 32 nd regiment right, the Aussie right? Seems our blondie will soon speak Aussie here” Ashlyn joked “Whatd’ya think mates” she called to the others with a poor Aussie imitation_

_“Asshole” was Megan’s simple response, jumping Ashlyn erupting all to a pile jump_

_**_

Abby woke up from that memory hastily but with a smile on her face. She remembered the day Megan told her she managed to talk to Sarah. A small sound caught her attention. The soft snoring on her right showed Kelley cradling slowly but firmly Christie, both fast asleep. She smiled at the sight. Christie was finally resting and the kid too. As she turned her eyes fell on Hope. Her rigid posture was always maintained even when she is sleeping, her face was hard and cold as if she was killing someone in her dream, heck she thought, it wouldn’t be surprising in these times. They were machines trained to kill, to feel no remorse when the trigger takes away someone’s life, an innocent life power played by the dictators in the office who don’t dare to come out of their protected habitat to fight, rather they just let the others do the donkey work to kill in trying to prove a point. She always admired Hope, a sniper’s position, sometimes sitting unmoved for hours or even days looking at the world through a little scope waiting for that target to rear its head.

**

  _“How do you not get cramped in that prone or crouching position for hours with no rest Hope?” Abby asked as she walked towards Hope’s crouching posture during training. Just as she arrived by her she shot, the bullet hitting the mannequin in the head, “Impressive shot Solo”_

_“You’ll get used to it, we’re trained that way” Hope’s flat reply came back_

_“Do they also train you to be sassy and cold?” Abby’s flatter reply came back, “Here have a beer, practice is over, you’ll gonna bankrupt us with all the goddamn bullets you’re using without us being in the battlefield yet”_

_“Spoil sport” chuckled back Hope, a genuine grin forming on the lips, something that Hope never likes to show. The beer was hugely appreciated, and in half a second she chugged half of it._

_“How come you decided to be a sniper, heard you were one of the best demolishers there was in your rank”_

_“Sniper is more of a recluse position, you are more alone, a lone wolf actually. You see the world through a tiny scope, see everything in different perspective. It helps to concentrate only on the most important thing at that moment, as it blocks other distractions. Just like my life. I’ve been a lone wolf ever since I was a kid, and the only thing that matters to me now is staying alive.” Hope slowly said, revealing her choice as sniper for the first time_

_“Not even Jerramy matters?”_

_“Not when you’re in the battlefield. If I want to see my husband again I need to stay alive, and so does he. It’s no use thinking about him in the most crucial and vulnerable time, when I’m out in the open exposing myself. He’s not going to save me from 5000 miles away, neither am I to him. So best to focus on ourselves, and when our reunion happens, it happens, that will be our sniper scope, us being together for that moment.”_

_“Wow… never though that much deep into it” grimaced Abby_

_“You’re a loud, noisy, explosive gunner, you fire all the bullets in the world and scream at others, what do you expect” teased Hope, punching lightly Abby in the arm, “Mind you, it’s not that I don’t think about him every second that I’m not occupied with anything important, I think about him, but priorities are priorities AND YOU should as well, sometimes in a battlefield think about yourself first if you want to help others. You had some pretty close calls”_

_“Yeah I know… but I can’t bear these kids to get slaughtered”_

_“You can’t save everyone Abby, it’s a survival of the fittest”_

_**_

Abby woke up to the sound of soft babbling among some of her teammates who had already woken up, sleepily she yawned, stretching her muscles upwards, feeling the tightness and soreness from the awkward sleeping position slowly fading away. Lazily she looked at her watch brightly outputting 6:32, surprised that she slept through the night thinking that one second before she was watching Christie. Thinking about hershe instinctively looked at her, lastly remembering her in Kelley’s embrace. She was awake, cradling Kelley in her sleep that still was lost in dreams. Christie’s tired but happier gaze met Abby’s and just smiled. Abby slowly rose up and walked towards her

“How are you feeling now?”

“Better, had a good 3 hour sleep at least thanks to her” smiled Christie, stroking gently Kelley’s hair.

“You’ve grown fond of her as well” smiled Abby

“She makes me remember of the little ones at home” smiled sadly Christie, “She has the same energy and cuddles at sleep the same like them” laughed softly

“Where do you think we arrived?”

“We nearly arrived near The Netherlands” Hope chimed in, “I’ve just asked them the Canadians”

“Do you always butt in other people’s conversations?” teased Abby

“Maybe… here I’ve figured you might be hungry” she said, handing each an apple winking at Abby, “How’s the squirrel?” pointing at Kelley

“She’s scared…she just snoozed a bit now”

“Here swap places, so you can eat something, I already ate” offered Hope, “and put her on me, she’s going to destroy her neck like that.”

Slowly she supported Kelley’s weight, careful enough not to wake the young woman. Christie slowly squirmed out of the chair supporting back Kelley until Hope sat down instead of her.  Slowly, Hope snuggled closer to Kelley, letting the younger woman’s side of the face grazing Hope’s chest. Hope’s chin rested on the kid’s head, her hand going up and down the length of her arm. The strong frame and hug eased her worried face and snuggled deeper into the embrace.

“I remember when I was her age, or younger, I was even more scared then her. Like Afghanistan where I found Carli”

“You did great back then” said Christie, remembering that skirmish

“Still I was scared shitless, the reinforcements nearly caught up with me, and Carli was badly knackered. I think that was one point when I decided to be a sniper”, looking back at Abby.

“Shh, Let the kid sleep peacefully, it’s gonna be her last sleep for a while” Abby whispered, seeing Kelley squirming a bit.

Abby and Christie both parted ways leaving Hope calmly holding Kelley as Carli slowly sauntered to her side.

The new carriers were small but had some new upgrades. Mostly some air to air defensive turrets which consisted of 2 machine turrets and 2 missile turrets in case of attacks. The size of the carriers changed as well, a bit smaller but wider than the other ones that were in service and so gave ample space for them to roam. Christie made way slowly towards Boxxy, Ali and Ash. Abby decided to bother the pilots, reaching the cockpit she called to the two women inside.

Hey..hey Tancredi, Moscato where are we?”

“Up in the air” Melissa’s flat reply came back, “Why? You want a little stroll?”

“Well the plane is a bit cramped” chuckled back Abby

“They will be plenty of time for strolls Abby, just wait till you get to Montenegro” called back Carm

Abby chuckled, leave it up to the Canadians to ease a situation

“No, I was just wondering when we’ll start dodging missiles” Abby joked back

“Hey hotshot this is a carrier, not an F-22 you know” Melissa cut back, “We’re trying all the detours to avoid the fighting, but it’s going to be hard without air backup to move between Netherlands and Slovenia Hopefully we’ll arrive to Corsica alive and switch to the new Helicopters.”

“So, basically you suck at dodging missiles?” Abby pressed her a bit back

“Not as much as you moron, I’m telling you I’m trying to be discreet as possible, why get your “petite” ass on fire when I get to avoid it altogether?” Melissa said losing slightly her temper. Abby noticed, the way Melissa turned towards her at the last sentence shooting a death glare.

“Ok ok, I was just messing around a bit sheesh”

“Don’t mind her, it’s the Italian blood boiling up combined with the war nerves” Carm smiled at Abby, nudging hard on Mel, “It’s just some tension, it’ll soon pass her”

“Yeah, with pesky Americans come _lei_ (like her) _”,_ said Melissa pointing at Abby without looking at her, “Remind me why I’m in this job again?”

“Because you are in a war, and there is nothing you can do apart from dealing with pesky Americans”, chimed back Abby leaving them be.

***

 

Kelley’s eyes slowly opened to find herself leaning on a different body frame than the one she was resting against in the first place. A wider, taller and sturdier frame was supporting her, easing the stress on her neck, Christie’s body was causing. Slowly gazing to her right side, she saw an arm draped over her arm pulling her close to the other soldier, her fingers sometimes massaging where it was resting. Gazing up, she noticed it was Hope, the least person she ever thought of showing any affection. Hope seemed to have sensed the younger woman waking up, and looked down towards her.

“Hey there, rested well?” Hope’s quiet voice asked the sleepy one

“Yeah, it was peaceful” Kelley said with a small yawn, still hazy from the sleep “What is the time?”

“Just a little bit over 7 am, we’re flying from Netherlands, south towards Corsica and maybe fly from there. We are going to have more infantry joining us hopefully, rumors are we’re going to have some more heavy gunners and 2 medics for sure. We need all the hands we can get…. Hungry?” switched conversation Hope while offering an apple.

“I thought we were just going to be some 30 Americans” Kelley pressed back.

“I think he knew it was going to be suicide, so he agreed to give us some hands, receive help from other countries, besides, we already have some Canadians up aboard with us, or did you forget them?” lightly chuckled Hope, “now here, eat” pressed her Hope

Kelley, noticing she was still resting on her quickly straightened up, embarrassed about what some of her squad mates would think. This caused for Hope to snort and quietly laugh

“Relax O’Hara, no one is going to say anything, we all love affection here, we’re in a war, anything counts, even a simple hug or caress”

“I thought snipers were badass, never showing affection, and by snipers I mean YOU, you always seem so grumpy” Kelley whispered the last words, quickly munching the apple to keep her mouth full from saying something else she might regret. She studied Hope’s face, trying to see whether her words caused her any negative effects, instead Hope snorted again.

“Yea I am grumpy, but who isn’t in a war. Besides I was always and still am a lone wolf. But that doesn’t mean I can’t show affection. Why are you surprised?”

“Because… because it’s Hope Solo we are talking about. Never knew you had a soft side”

“Please kid, you barely joined our ranks 2 weeks, don’t act as if you know us because frankly you don’t” Hope slightly annoyed replied

“First impressions count though, even if give out the wrong impression like in this case” Kelley’s defying voice retorted back

“You don’t know me”

“Then enlighten me”

Before Hope could respond her, the carrier room’s red lights started flashing along with a wailing warning sound, signaling trouble is ahead. All scrambled to an empty seat putting on their seatbelt. The PA crackled to life and Melissa’s voice echoed through the room

“Hey Wambach, seems your wish is coming true, I hope it’s not your voodoo magic, hold your panties women, until Escort arrives in ETA 10 mins, things might get tumbling. Heath, McLeod, O’Hara and Sesselman get your asses on the missile turrets panels and start shooting fuckers down. Put on your oxygen masks ASAP”

 

With that the PA went dead, and the plane quickly lost altitude plunging down.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyooo :) another chapter, working on chapter 5. any feedback is good feedback :))

**Author's Note:**

> Any kind of review would be nice, even critical ones to see what I can add and modify. Thanks all for reading :)  
> Promise more action in the next chapters :)  
> \---
> 
> Note 2: Now I know some things are not correct (chronological and RL) as many things have happened in one year, BUT I will slowly gradually start inserting the new updated stuff. Don't forget, it's an AU After all :))) Hope you enjoy it


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